Re: [Paddlewise] paddles, beer, true science (humor)

From: Dan Hagen <dan_at_hagen.net>
Date: Wed, 23 May 2001 22:51:56 -0700
Craig Olson <craigo_at_nas.com> wrote:

> Dan Hagen makes some very good points as to the biomechanical advantages associated with proper
> torso rotation as it relates to paddling efficiency.  It's true that the bulk of paddling power
> comes from the torso and not from the arms,  however, Dan neglected to mention a couple things -
> specifically:
> 
> 1)  Rotating the torso in order to look at the paddle (or beers tied onto the paddle) in the manner
> that Dan describes requires that the torso be rotated past the point of maximum efficiency,
> specifically 53.2 degrees from the bow.  

The key phrase here is "peripheral vision". By using one's peripheral
vision, it is possible to track the beers visually without over-rotating.
As with all advanced paddling techniques, practice makes perfect.

> 2)  Since Dan used a differentially corrected GPS display with "heads up" display it may be assumed
> that his results may not have been adequately corrected for other system variables.  The "heads up"
> display is inherently faulty in that no adjustments or corrections are applied for parallax,
> commonly described as "perceived error caused by improper viewing angle"  and this can add more
> error than all the GPS error budget items combined.

Ah, flame bait! It sounds like you have bought into the standard FCC
line regarding the limitations of heads-up displays in sea kayaking
applications. All I can say is that the parallax issue has been shown to
be a red herring. Such problems are a simple case of operator error--not
an inherent flaw in the system. I could say more, but I choose not to
escalate the debate.

Dan Hagen
***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed
here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire
responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author.
Submissions:     PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net
Subscriptions:   PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************
Received on Wed May 23 2001 - 22:56:35 PDT

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:43 PDT